Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“I’m here for the night,” she declares, startling me.
“But what about Vaughn?”
“He’s in Vancouver,” she reminds me. “Besides, even if he were home, he’d be fine. He cares about you.”
“He’s one of the good guys, too.” I sniff when my eyes fill with tears again. “Thank you.”
“This is who we are, Stel. You don’t ever have to thank me for it.”
Chapter 12
Gray
Last night was one that I don’t plan to relive anytime soon.
I know that she needed time alone, and I respect it. But Christ, the agony on her face broke my goddamn heart.
And I stayed away all night as she wanted.
I won’t anymore.
With a big, pink box of donuts in my hands, I walk to the front door of Stella’s house and ring the bell.
“Hey,” Drew says when he opens the door. He bites into an apple but eyes the box in my hands. “You must be here for Stella.”
“I am. Want a donut?” I open the lid, and Drew grins.
“Who in their right mind would pass up a donut?” He reaches in and comes out with three. “Stella’s still in bed. Thanks for these, much better than an apple.”
He walks away, and I close the door behind me, walking through the living room, only to come face-to-face with Haley.
“Are those donuts?” she asks with hope in her gorgeous blue eyes.
“Take one,” I offer, and she grabs a chocolate glazed. When she bites in, she sighs.
“I’m going to have to run an extra mile today, and I don’t even care. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
I climb the stairs, two at a time, and almost run right into Erin.
It seems the whole house is awake, aside from the one woman I want to see.
“Take a donut,” I invite Erin, who grins widely.
“Well, this is a fun surprise. You even have a maple.” She bites into the fresh donut and waves it at me as she turns to head down the stairs. “Have a good day.”
“You, too.”
I knock lightly on Stella’s door and then quietly open it, surprised to find not just Stella still asleep, but also Olivia, soundlessly putting on her shoes.
“Hey,” she says with a whisper. “I have to get to work. Thought I’d let her sleep.”
She pats me on the shoulder, snatches a donut out of the box, and then hurries out of the room.
There are two empty pizza boxes discarded on the floor. On the bed, right in the middle, is an ice cream carton, open and on its side, with a little puddle of melted ice cream to top it off.
Did a frat party happen in here?
I set the box on the side table and sit on the side of the bed near Stella’s hip.
“Damn it, Liv, I’m sleeping.”
I grin and brush a blond lock of hair off her smooth cheek. “It looks like you had quite a party.”
She cracks open an eye and looks up at me, her mouth tipping up in a sleepy smile.
“G’morning,” she murmurs.
“Good morning, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Groggy,” she says and turns onto her back with a sigh. “Did Liv leave?”
“She was just heading out when I got here. I brought donuts, by the way. I think there are about six left after the rest of the household descended, so you’ll want to grab your share.”
“That’s sweet.” She reaches for my hand and presses it to her cheek. “You brought me food. And you had food delivered yesterday, too.”
“From the looks of it, you and Olivia enjoyed it.”
Stella laughs and licks her lips. “We ate our weight in all the junk food. It always helps.” Her face sobers. “I owe you an apology.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.” She sits up and pushes her hair away from her face, grabbing my hand again to clutch it in hers. “I’m not sorry that I couldn’t be with you last night. But I do apologize for the dramatic display you had to witness when you showed up here. I had a really shitty afternoon at work. There is a client, a superrich, super influential client that I’ve been working for since last winter. Almost a year of work. And yesterday was my big reveal for her.”
Stella closes her eyes, and I tighten my grip on her hand in reassurance.
“It didn’t go well,” she says and then laughs. “That’s the understatement of the year. Actually, I monumentally failed. She hates it. So much so that I have to start over.”
“From scratch?”
“Well, no. Thankfully, she agreed to keep the structure as-is because I don’t know how long it would take me to find a construction crew for this. But I’ll be returning almost all the furnishings and starting over on the décor. It was just a huge blow to my confidence. I think it’s some of my best work, and I don’t think the client could have hated it more. And she didn’t deliver the news…gently. Not that I need to be coddled or have smoke blown up my ass if I don’t do a job right. I’m old enough and smart enough to know that not every design will hit the mark. But, damn, it really sucked.”